The services sector plays an increasingly important role in the global economy and the growth and development of countries.

Services are becoming crucial in a country's development, including in achieving the Millennium Development Goals, such as poverty reduction and access to basic services, including education and health services.

UNCTAD has implemented a comprehensive work programme on services, trade and development with a view to assisting developing countries in developing their services sectors, increasing their participation in services trade and realizing development benefits. This work enjoys extensive complementarity between the three pillars of UNCTAD's operations.

The trip to Santiago, which took place from 1 to 4 December, was organized by the University of Chile's Institute of International Studies, and the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).

Government officials and UNCTAD experts met in Asunción, Paraguay, on 1-2 September 2014 to assess the findings of a Services Policy Review of the country and to agree on a set of recommendations to be adopted by stakeholders and submitted to the government for action.